He pulled out the bottle. Nicely chilled and ready to be opened. Kelsey said he had nothing to worry about. To think, she thought his family was perfect. What a laugh. “Look what came with our dinner.”
“Your mother didn’t order it, I did.”
“You did?”
Kelsey nodded.
Images of an empty bottle of champagne, an uneaten dinner left cooling on the table, and an eager Kelsey sent his temperature rising. Forget about his mother. He had a bigger problem. Himself.
Will cleared his dry throat. “Why champagne?”
“I want to celebrate.”
“Celebrate?”
She nodded, motioned to the box, and batted her long, luscious eyelashes. “Care to join me?”
A smile lit up her face. A smile directed straight at him. This could only mean…
Oh, no. Was she planning on propositioning him? He didn’t know why else she would have ordered a bottle of bubbly or be acting so…flirty.
Every muscle tightened. Let her down easy. That was all he had to do. And not make a big deal out of it.
Will opened his mouth to speak, but no words would come. He simply stared at her, an odd mix of apprehension and anticipation duking it out inside of him.
She rose from the table and walked toward him. The sway of her hips seemed more noticeable. Her complexion glowed. And her eyes… A million stars had sprung to life in their depths.
A ripple of excitement rushed through him.
She picked up the champagne bottle. “There should be a chocolate cake in there from Molly Fitzpatrick, too.”
And oysters for appetizers?He gulped.
He was tempted. More than he should be. But thinking and doing were two totally different things. And what about the wedding they still needed to plan?
If anything happened… Nothing would. Nothing could. She didn’t believe in anything he did. Not love or marriage or happily ever after. Not that he was looking for any of those things. He wasn’t, and she wasn’t, Will realized. Did that mean she was only after one night? His pulse pounded in his throat.
She held the bottle and dried the neck with a towel. Back and forth. Back and forth. Will swallowed. Hard.
“Of course,” she said, her voice seductive, “we’ll have to wait until we eat this delicious-smelling dinner before we cut into dessert.”
His gaze focused on her full lips.
Desire hit him low and hard. Kelsey had flicked on a switch Will hadn’t known existed. Forget about cake, he wanted…
“We could eat dessert first.” The words slipped out of his mouth. What was he doing? Thinking? Becoming? He brushed his hand through his hair.
Her grin widened. She unwrapped the foil and twisted the wire covering the cork. The bottle opened with a pop, and he thought he was going to pop himself. “I like how you think.”
I like how you think, too. And so much more than that.
Trouble, he was in big trouble.Slow down. Forget she’s a woman. Yeah, right.He’d have to be in a coma.
Maybe this wasn’t so bad, after all. He wasn’t looking for forever; neither was she.
Kelsey filled the glasses, handed one to him, and raised her own. “To the future members of the de Thierry royal family.”
“To…” Will was about to say, “To us.” He felt as light-headed as the bubbles rising in the champagne. “What did you say?”
